Magic Christmas Cruise 2010 (Dec 18th - 29th) - PART II

[Hmorale]

Hi - We are the Morale family: Heather(42), Marc(42), Marc(8),and Connor(6)
-I grew up in Park Ridge Il but now reside south of Chicago in New Lenox Il.
-We are DVC owners - Saratoga Springs
-I have not yet started packing but have many lists and tried on many outfits
-I wear a uniform for work so I like to dress up when I can so we will be all fancy for dinner.
-I love to travel, SCUBA dive, and reading(a good book is worth it's weight in gold)
-This is our 1st Disney Cruise
-I am a Flight Attendant for American Airlines. We own a construction Company that lays down sewer pipes and water mains mostly for the city of CHicago. My Husband is also an Instructor Trainer for SCUBA Diving, and an Ordained Minister and does Renewal of Vows and Weddings for fun on the weekends.
-When I was in college I did a 6 month internship at The Land at EPCOT. I was in charge of the whole aquaculture display in the ride "Listen to the Land" the red room with all the fish. I was in charge of care, feeding, cleaning, and harvesting of the fish for the Grille upstairs. I also gave the behind the scenes tour of the green houses before you had to pay for them(don't know what the tour is called now that there is a fee)
-The best trip I ever went on was to Punta Cana for my second marrige. 52 of our friends and family joined us for a week. Wedding on the beach, sunset boat ride, and when everyone came off the boat we had costumes and props for a pirate party! What fun we had! I also really enjoy Disney's Vero Beach.
-I am of Scottish decent and DH is 1/2 Polish and 1/2 Mexican, I think that makes him a Polmex or something - lol! We met in college, but went our seperate ways. When I got my transfer back to Chicago for New York we got back in touch and have been happy ever since.
-I need to loose 10 pounds for this trip

Heather

 

[Cruisin'Nick]

K, so now I'm totally confused....printed instructions from DCL about the box, went to the UPS store and they said it could either be a 12x12x12 box that DCL is talking about or a 24x12x10 box. The instructions SAY a record storage box which to me looked like the 24x12x10 box. Has anyone actually sent boxes ahead of time before that knows either way?

 

[Cruisin'Nick]

Hi - We are the Morale family: Heather(42), Marc(42), Marc(8),and Connor(6)
-I grew up in Park Ridge Il but now reside south of Chicago in New Lenox Il.
-We are DVC owners - Saratoga Springs
-I have not yet started packing but have many lists and tried on many outfits
-I wear a uniform for work so I like to dress up when I can so we will be all fancy for dinner.
-I love to travel, SCUBA dive, and reading(a good book is worth it's weight in gold)
-This is our 1st Disney Cruise
-I am a Flight Attendant for American Airlines. We own a construction Company that lays down sewer pipes and water mains mostly for the city of CHicago. My Husband is also an Instructor Trainer for SCUBA Diving, and an Ordained Minister and does Renewal of Vows and Weddings for fun on the weekends.
-When I was in college I did a 6 month internship at The Land at EPCOT. I was in charge of the whole aquaculture display in the ride "Listen to the Land" the red room with all the fish. I was in charge of care, feeding, cleaning, and harvesting of the fish for the Grille upstairs. I also gave the behind the scenes tour of the green houses before you had to pay for them(don't know what the tour is called now that there is a fee)
-The best trip I ever went on was to Punta Cana for my second marrige. 52 of our friends and family joined us for a week. Wedding on the beach, sunset boat ride, and when everyone came off the boat we had costumes and props for a pirate party! What fun we had! I also really enjoy Disney's Vero Beach.
-I am of Scottish decent and DH is 1/2 Polish and 1/2 Mexican, I think that makes him a Polmex or something - lol! We met in college, but went our seperate ways. When I got my transfer back to Chicago for New York we got back in touch and have been happy ever since.
-I need to loose 10 pounds for this trip

Heather

*giggles Not to pick on hubby, cause I'm a mut when it comes to nationalities...but when I was reading this instead of Polmex like you said, I thought of Mexi-Pol... sounded a lil more funny to me.

 

[miatamel]

K, so now I'm totally confused....printed instructions from DCL about the box, went to the UPS store and they said it could either be a 12x12x12 box that DCL is talking about or a 24x12x10 box. The instructions SAY a record storage box which to me looked like the 24x12x10 box. Has anyone actually sent boxes ahead of time before that knows either way?

Nick, I'm not much help but four years ago I sent a BIG ole box. I mean BIG. Think it weighed 28 pounds--full of costumes and goodies and wood swords and water and I don't know what all. When I read 12" record size I thought "uh oh." I have plans to send Santa babe stuff ahead and it's just not going to go in a 12" square box--that is a small box.
I just can't imagine they are going to be there in the warehouse with a ruler. Just as long as it's not great big and weigh over 20 lbs., I think you'll be fine. Don't you?

 

[Three at Sea]

I checked the disneycruise.com site last night and our 11 night southern cruise is no longer available - its been removed from the list completely. I guess that means we're sold out!

But we were lucky enough to get upgraded from cat 12 to a cat 9!. And thanks to the DISer's who notified me re: theme night schedule - I was able to re-book our Palo night so it didn't fall on Pirate Night....you guys are awesome!

I feel bad for the poor souls who can't join us, eh?! But I'm feeling it is going to be a very merry Christmas for us!

 

[MommyLissa]

Only 26 days until I start making my journey across the pond!! I have this huge fear that I get stuck in Baghdad or Kuwait and miss the sailing.... I'm actually dreaming of the food and dressing up! I can hardly focus at work anymore

 

[tinkmischief]

Lola is awesome!!...and so are you. I am sure we will get along fabulously! We can be the eccentrics corner

Mexi-pol is good...my first thought was Mexish lol

Wow! I have so much to do still! I have a few piles here and there but that's it!

We don't have anything planned for Martinique yet either? I have reserved a couple shore excursions but am not 100% on anything yet really. We are doing the island/butterfly tour in St. Maarten, Botanical Garden & beach time in Guadeloupe and the Dolphin Discovery in St Thomas (well Tortola really) and of course visiting with family in Barbados. The Dolphin Discovery is what I am most on the fence about. I haven't read a lot of reviews and the one I have found are polar opposites Plus it is a lot of money and there is still a chance my son will get scared freak out. He was fine touching sting rays on a school field trip so I am hoping it will be ok....but the larger area and being IN the water with them this time might not go over too well. And maybe it will be the highlight over his trip...ya just never know

 

[STLUCIELADY]

We are also winging it in Martinique. The main part of town and the old Fort are an easy walk. The food is supposed to be great. (DS16, DS15, and DD13).

I think we will be winging it in most of the ports except for the monkey excursion (I can't remember off hand which port that is). St Thomas we will most likely taxi over to Magans Bay. We enjoyed that last time. St Martin we will take the bus to Marigot. Didn't get to the French side last time so we are looking forward to it. Most places we have been able to use public transport with no problems. You do have to do a bit more research so you know exactly where you are going before you try it. You do not want to be wandering around trying to find the bus, train, ferry for too long. That makes you a big target for pick pockets etc.

 

[cquick]

A picture of the skirt and vest!

you're gonna have to wait until the cruise....I will wear it on Pirate night! along with my blinking hair braids!

 

[cquick]

I can't wait until my son gets home from college! There is a buzzing sound in my computer! He'll have to take it apart, I hope it's only a fan or something like that!

 

[SwimMama]

I checked the disneycruise.com site last night and our 11 night southern cruise is no longer available - its been removed from the list completely. I guess that means we're sold out!

But we were lucky enough to get upgraded from cat 12 to a cat 9!. And thanks to the DISer's who notified me re: theme night schedule - I was able to re-book our Palo night so it didn't fall on Pirate Night....you guys are awesome!

I feel bad for the poor souls who can't join us, eh?! But I'm feeling it is going to be a very merry Christmas for us!

Not quite sold out yet. This morning there are cat. 10, 9, and 8 available.

It might be nice if it doesn't sell out and therefore the ship won't be as crowded.

 

[SwimMama]

Wow! I have so much to do still! I have a few piles here and there but that's it!

tinkmischief,

I am right there with you. I only have my children's dress clothes laid out in piles. Yikes! still so much to do!

 

[MommyLissa]

The Dolphin Discovery is what I am most on the fence about. I haven't read a lot of reviews and the one I have found are polar opposites Plus it is a lot of money and there is still a chance my son will get scared freak out. He was fine touching sting rays on a school field trip so I am hoping it will be ok....but the larger area and being IN the water with them this time might not go over too well. And maybe it will be the highlight over his trip...ya just never know

I did the Dolphin Encounter in Jamaica last year and it was AMAZING!! There were three different levels to choose from...
1. Standing ankle deep and having the dolphins swim up on a platform for you to pet and play with.
2. A group of 5-10 people in waist deep water with 2 dolphins jumping and playing and swimming around you.
3. You in the water and two dolphins swim around you, kiss you, and give you a dorsal fin ride


It was on our honeymoon, and I was the only one who did it... (DH, BIL, SIL had previously done this, so they were my paparazzi) I opted for #3, the most close encounter with the dolphins, but I think DD5 (or your DS6) would be great with one of the other two options. The dolphins are really intelligent creatures and they had a whole lot of personality. I would absolutely recommend it.

 

[decked out]

I cannot get over how many impressive degrees we have on this sailing. Seriously, this is one educated bunch.

No surprise; the impeccable spelling and grammar is a dead giveaway.

-When I was in college I did a 6 month internship at The Land at EPCOT. I was in charge of the whole aquaculture display in the ride "Listen to the Land" the red room with all the fish. I was in charge of care, feeding, cleaning, and harvesting of the fish for the Grille upstairs. I also gave the behind the scenes tour of the green houses before you had to pay for them(don't know what the tour is called now that there is a fee)

Heather

Excellent! I took that tour last year. The backstage tour at The Land is one of the the coolest things I have ever done at WDW! (The charge is about $15.) I love gardening and we eat something from our garden practically every day. After the tour, I seriously considered trying to raise talapia, but decided we can't handle any more pets. Not to mention it is probably more cost effective to buy fillets at the store.

We are going to EPCOT next week and I want to take the tour again. I hope to meet you on the cruise and would like to hear all about your aquaculture experience...

 

[mmi]

Hi Camie,

Yes, we will be coming down the 65 through Birmingham and Montgomery then we will take the 231 out of Montgomery. It will probably be later on Saturday afternoon when we hit Montgomery. It will depend on how far we get on Friday. We are going to the mid-night showing of HP on Thursday and then DD will go to school half day on Friday so I'm not sure how far we will get, but I am going to drive until I get tired.

I'll send you my cell #, you can call and see if we are still in town. Don't know how you usually go, but it's shorter if you go 231 from Montgomery, and then turn at Troy to go the rest of the way through Enterprise. You will come out at Hwy 79 and not have to go all the way through town (Panama City). That's how we used to go to my parents' when we lived in Montgomery.

 

[mmi]

Here's a question, we are in cabin 2620, which has some good reviews (location) and some not so good (lots of noise from kitchen-above, and whatever is below). TA says we can switch to a GTY, but then we give up knowing that we would be on the same floor as my parents and in-laws. Any suggestions?

 

[thegales]

I can't wait until my son gets home from college! There is a buzzing sound in my computer! He'll have to take it apart, I hope it's only a fan or something like that!

Vacuum all the vents and fans for any dust accumulation. Even if you don't open the computer, this gets rid of a lot of the build up on the fan, etc.

 

[thegales]

Cars

A few pages back, there was some discussion on the new Cars movie.

We were on board when the first Cars movie came out. It was rainy on the morning of Castaway Cay day, so they opened up another showing of Cars in the Buena Vista Theatre. In the middle of the movie, it kept playing but the house lights came up. Snow White walked from the back of the theatre along the side to a door. She went through it and the house lights went back down.

DD and I got a kick out of that, thinking where else would something like that happen.

 

[momssurprise]

MMI, I would keep the room. We've been in 2566 and 2568 and loved the location!

 

[3princessMommy]

Is anyone else doing the Creole Fiesta - A Day at Caret Island when we visit Guadalupe?

This is the excursion I'm the most looking forward to. It looks like absolute paradise!

We are taking DD7 to Caret Island - looked like a good combination of stuff for both us and DD.

I grew up in Port Townsend and lived many years in Seattle (near the zoo) -

I miss coffee on every corner and Mt Rainer on a sunny day

I can't find the quote but we are also doing Caret Island - Kids picked it as #1 thing to do. (DD's are 16 & 12 if other families going)

Also some asked if anyone was winging it in Martinique and we are - we are planning on shopping, getting some wine and having a lunch somewhere

Lisa

We are also winging it in Martinique - couldn't come up with anything that we thought the kids would like and thought that everyone would be exhausted after three days of ports.

We are also booked for the Creole Fiesta on Claret. Along with the 5 star Catamaran and French Riviera Orient Beach. Basically, if it comes with a meal, I booked it.

My tiny little theatre is actually having the midnight showing of Harry Potter and so I got mine and DD9's tickets last night. I've yet to decide if I'm a really good mom or a really bad mom for going out at midnight on a school night and then us all sleeping in Friday morning and missing half a day of school. I'm sure I'll be pariah-ed by the PTO moms (of which I am NOT) and beloved by my daughter. The Anal German Hottie Husband is not real thrilled about it, either, I don't think. C'est la vie!!

I cannot get over how many impressive degrees we have on this sailing. Seriously, this is one educated bunch. (I believe just this group could have fed, medicated, drilled, built and rescued the Chilean miners all by ourselves) Me notwithstanding. I'm feeling totally inferior--can I claim a degree in Eccentricity?

We are also doing the Catamaran in Barbados! DD9 will do her first snorkeling adventure. She wants to see the sea turtles, but is nervous about swimming with the fish. I hope no one will throw bread in the water near her. Someone did that to me on my first snorkeling trip - it took several years for me to get back into the water after that.

Lola is awesome!!...and so are you. I am sure we will get along fabulously! We can be the eccentrics corner

Mexi-pol is good...my first thought was Mexish lol

Wow! I have so much to do still! I have a few piles here and there but that's it!

We don't have anything planned for Martinique yet either? I have reserved a couple shore excursions but am not 100% on anything yet really. We are doing the island/butterfly tour in St. Maarten, Botanical Garden & beach time in Guadeloupe and the Dolphin Discovery in St Thomas (well Tortola really) and of course visiting with family in Barbados. The Dolphin Discovery is what I am most on the fence about. I haven't read a lot of reviews and the one I have found are polar opposites Plus it is a lot of money and there is still a chance my son will get scared freak out. He was fine touching sting rays on a school field trip so I am hoping it will be ok....but the larger area and being IN the water with them this time might not go over too well. And maybe it will be the highlight over his trip...ya just never know

We took DD7 and DD9 on the Tortola dolphin adventure last summer when the Magic went to Tortola. The girls were really excited about it, but when they got into the water and saw how big the dolphins were, they FREAKED . They scrambled out of the water and wouldn't even put their feet in. DD7 finally let me hold her, but DD9 wanted none of the "grandpa" dolphin! One of the staff came over and asked her if she'd like to see the "baby" dolphin. She jumped up and followed him to another area. The pictures were priceless! She petted and kissed the "baby" and still talks about it. I was so grateful to the staff!

The part with the dolphins was really cool, but I have to say that DCL did fall down a bit on the logistics for that tour. We were all stranded at the site for an hour in the hot sun with no shade or water until the transport came back. Not sure what the problem was, but we definitely let DCL know that it wasn't acceptable. I'm sure they've fixed it.